Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 32: Out of Control

Two stone pillars, one tall and one short, stood on both sides of the closed iron gate like two majestic sentries.

The security guard inside seemed to be absent-minded, and he did not care about the calling at the door outside.

“Sheriff, what should we do next? Since the people inside the campus won’t cooperate, what if we rush it?”

A police officer, who was in a hurry to show his loyalty, did not notice that he had touched a nerve for the Sheriff.

“Where would we rush, you dumbass?”

“Are the people inside ordinary people?”

“In this darkness, in case of an accident, maybe death, in the rush, who is going to take responsibility, you or me?”

Winston scolded the officer, venting his internal frustration.

He was already a sophisticate in the workplace, and he knew that the simple-headed teenagers looking for trouble in the university were not easy to deal with. If they rushed in right away, they might be beaten well and never know who did it.

If they did not use guns, they might not be able to beat the students inside; however, he did not dare use guns, for if he killed someone with powerful connections, an avenger could kill him in a million different ways.

All this wisdom came from his rich career experience; otherwise, Winston could not have been climbed up to the position of Sheriff, as an ordinary person. He was already satisfied. If he wanted to go further, he must participate in politics. Winston knew his distance: he, who hadn’t even finished primary school, would definitely be a dead man sooner or later if he got involved in politics.

“Everyone, stay put, in case the suspects inside rush out!”

……

Winston came up with a simple plan: block the gate. As long as the students were under control and not free to go out to make trouble, things would be much easier to handle.

Compared with students at the university, people in other places were not so lucky. They had nothing to give the police second thoughts, so many were jailed.

By doing this, though, the Vienna government not only failed to scare the public, but also inspired everyone to share the same enemy. Following the planning of the revolutionaries, an even bigger demonstration broke out in Vienna the next day.

In the government building, Prime Minister Metternich was already panicked, because, in the past, as long as the leaders of the unrest were under arrest, the anti-government campaign would collapse.

Unfortunately, this time was different: it was more difficult for the public to give up the demonstration since everyone was forced to their corners. Only the government could solve the real problem.

The massive group of demonstrators broke through the police blockade and headed straight to the palace. The Vienna government panicked, and, hurriedly, Prime Minister Metternich commanded the City Defense Army to move into the city to maintain order.

…

A fast horse was galloping up the mountain road, and the Austrians knew that it was a messenger. In front of the military camp, the messenger got down from his horse and was taken in.

“Commander, military emergency!”

Albrecht, who had already prepared himself, took the emergency report and opened it on the spot. It was not unexpected that Vienna was in chaos. The government was worried that the situation would get out of control, so they’d ordered the field training troops to return to the city immediately.

“Pass on the order: stop training immediately, pack the luggage, and get ready to go back!” Albrecht said calmly.

It only took half a day for the messenger to come, but it would take at least two or three days for the army to return. Much could happen in such a long time.

Franz did not stop the army from returning to the city, because it would be too obvious to do so. He needed the Austrian Empire to be broken and re-established, but there was absolutely no need for Austria to be really divided.

The Vienna rebellion could break out, but it must be extinguished immediately. He needed to take advantage of the rebellion to clear the worms in the government, but he did not intend to let the rebels overthrow the government altogether.

“Franz, the situation in Vienna has gotten very bad. One hundred thousand people took part in the demonstration yesterday. If the government does not handle it properly, the consequences could be very serious!”

Albrecht said this seriously, and by that time, he was already a little worried about Franz’s plans, fearing it would become like the Paris February revolution.

Franz smiled slightly, then pointed to the military camp and said slowly, “Don’t worry, Austria is different from France. We still have troops loyal to the royal family!”

That was the reason for his confidence: there was still a group of palace guards in Vienna that could defend the palace. Even if all the remaining five thousand soldiers of City Defense Troops were useless, they were still uselessly loyal to the emperor.

Unlike France, the Austrian army was not open to everyone. The officers were basically nobles and would not easily betray their own class.

An uprising without the support of the Army was at most a massive riot and would eventually be suppressed.

Franz was ready to dismiss Metternich’s cabinet first thing after he returned, as an explanation to the public.

Then he’d announce the abolition of serfdom and the implementation of the Labor Protection Act to appease the people, and then the policy that “it is the leaders who would be punished, and the others would be spared.”

At worst, he would arrest a few corrupt officials, pass a sentence, and so on, to divert the public’s attention.

Even after the First World War, the Hapsburg family held a very high position in the minds of ordinary people. If their descendants were not too weak, the Austro-Hungarian Empire would not collapse.

In history, after the outbreak of the Vienna revolution, some people proposed to abolish the monarchy, but it was opposed by the Viennese people.

…

Vienna

The demonstrators surrounded the government, palace, and parliament to force the government to accept their conditions.

To dismiss the cabinet, release political prisoners, carry out constitutional reform, open up election restrictions, abolish serfdom, confiscate the fiefs of nobles, distribute land to serfs, and abolish the book and newspaper inspection system …

The situation was already on the verge of falling apart. The Vienna government could not agree to these conditions, which would mean the destruction of the Empire.

Things had changed: the capitalists were no longer satisfied with ordinary reforms, and they wanted to seize the reins of the country in order to survive the crisis.

In order to achieve this goal, they no longer cared about the future of Austria. Patriots were used by conspirators who did not consider the consequences of doing so.

Ordinary people were blinded, and most of them were just fooling around. Even most workers were participating in the demonstrations just for money.

Yes, there were wages for people to participate in the demonstrations; otherwise, the revolution would not have had the ability to organize so many people in such a short time.

Without the cooperation of capitalists, as communication in that era depended entirely on word of mouth, it would have taken a month for around a hundred members of the revolutionary party to organize more than one hundred thousand people.

Someone in the demonstration shouted, “Metternich, get out!” and then it spread quickly. Thousands of people shouted at the same time:

“Metternich, get out!”

“Metternich, get out!”

…

The situation had already gotten out of control. The old Prime Minister Metternich went pale, for he had lost the momentum of the past.